The use of automated drilling systems and methods is becoming increasing common in drilling subterranean wellbores. Such systems may employ local or remote control of the drilling operation. Moreover, multiple drilling operations may be connected by an intranet or a secure internet connection to enable a single system to control the multiple drilling operations. The drilling systems and/or methods may be employed, for example, to control the speed and/or the direction of drilling. The drilling systems and/or methods may be responsive to automated feedback (such as sensor measurements made during drilling) and may employ sophisticated intelligent algorithms to interpret and respond to the feedback. The feedback may include substantially any measurements made while drilling such as measurement while drilling (MWD) and logging while drilling (LWD) measurements in combination with other surface sensor measurements.
While such automated systems may improve the efficiency of the drilling operations and reduce borehole tortuosity, there remains a need in the art for improved systems; in particular systems and methods that improve the overall safety of the drilling operation especially when externally controlled using intelligent algorithms.